Oxford Instruments Ups Stake in Arc/Spark OES Market
According to Oxford, WAS has an installed base of more than 2,000 instruments, manufactures more than 450 instruments each year and has experienced annual growth of 25%. WAS provides mobile, portable and stationary arc/spark systems. The acquisition adds stationary and portable arc/spark OES systems to Oxford’s product line.
Abingdon, UK 7/26/07—Oxford Instruments has agreed to acquire 81.4% of Worldwide Analytical Systems AG (WAS), a supplier of arc/spark optical emission spectrometers. Oxford Instruments will pay a maximum of £9.3 million ($19.1 million) in cash. Based in Uedem, Germany, with 67 employees, WAS generated 2006 revenues of £5.7 million ($10.5 million) and a profit of £0.4 million ($0.7 million). ‘’This acquisition is part of our ongoing strategy to deliver added value to our customers and to grow our share of the Optical Emission market,” said Bradley Boyer, president of Oxford Instruments Industrial Analysis. VWR continues to grow its business in Europe through the acquisition of local distributors, which have traditionally had a strong presence in such a diverse market. Madison Dearborn Partners completed its acquisition of VWR on June 29 (see IBO 5/15/07).
